Gifts of Desire

by Kella McKinnon

Gifts of Desire… The wheels of fate are set in motion when a cursed Scottish laird finds his soul mate, and she gives him the one gift that he had given up hoping for... When Ella MacCrae is sent from her home on a secret quest to find a great treasure at Castle Tulloch, she does not know what she is looking for, but what she finds is the irresistible strength and passion of a warrior whose heart cries out for her, though at first he will not listen. Ceann MacKenzie, Laird of Tulloch, has been living for some time with the knowledge that he is cursed to be the last of his he will never hold a child of his own in his arms. Driven to a life of hard battle and bitter loneliness, he has given up on the dream of a wife and family, determined to devote himself instead to his clan until the day his cousin will take over the lairdship. When he finds a beautiful woman alone in the forest, he suspects a trap, but from the moment he sees her, his formerly steely resolve begins to crumble. Though she will not tell him who she is, Ceann finds himself unable to forget her, or even keep his hands from her. With secrets and treachery and half-told tales all around them, will two souls be able to fulfill a destiny they don’t even know is theirs?

Genres: Historical, Historical Romance, Romance, Scotland

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2011

About the author

Kella McKinnon lives in New England on a mini-farm with her husband and three children, and is finally making time for her favorite past-time: writing passionate stories that take the reader away to another time or place.

Reviews

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf 35%

Started out promising until there were too many references and details of heros past sexual experience for my liking.

The writing was not very good in that the historical accuracy was nil and there was too many unsaid issues that should have been brought fourth earlier on - ex: the curse.. the hero's past, the heroines backround.. etc..

Anyway, not my thing.

As for safety, it was not safe for me because I do not care for being told how many women the hero has had in the past nor do I care for heros who were in love with another before the heroine. Just my personal issues.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I read this through KU. I read a series by this author and, although it wasn't the best I ever read, I really enjoyed the author's writing style, so I picked up this standalone book up to try out. There was very poor editing- wrong words, extra words, or formatting, etc. However, I so loved the characters (especially the main girl) and the plot, that the poor editing did not detract from my enjoyment as it normally would. A great read. 5 stars.

[RomLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gifts of Desire…

The wheels of fate are set in motion when a cursed Scottish laird finds his soul mate, and she gives him the one gift that he had given up hoping for...

When Ella MacCrae is sent from her home on a secret quest to find a great treasure at Castle Tulloch, she does not know what she is looking for, but what she finds is the irresistible strength and passion of a warrior whose heart cries out for her, though at first he will not listen.

Ceann MacKenzie, Laird of Tulloch, has been living for some time with the knowledge that he is cursed to be the last of his line: he will never hold a child of his own in his arms. Driven to a life of hard battle and bitter loneliness, he has given up on the dream of a wife and family, determined to devote himself instead to his clan until the day his cousin will take over the lairdship. When he finds a beautiful woman alone in the forest, he suspects a trap, but from the moment he sees her, his formerly steely resolve begins to crumble. Though she will not tell him who she is, Ceann finds himself unable to forget her, or even keep his hands from her.

With secrets and treachery and half-told tales all around them, will two souls be able to fulfill a destiny they don’t even know is theirs?

[Frankiejohnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Romance, set in Scotland. A beautiful mystery woman is left in forest, where the Laird Mackenzie finds her and brings her home to his castle to protect her. His attraction to her is immense, but he continues to resist her and push her away, believing he has nothing to offer her, due to a curse that prevents him from having children. Ella is on a quest of her own, to seek a "great treasure" that even she herself doesn't fully understand. All she knows is that it will be recognizable when she finds it, at Castle Tulloch. When Ceann Mackenzie brings her to his home, Castle Tulloch, she is delighted and begins to look for her treasure, but cannot stop herself from acting on her deep attraction for the Laird. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The only thing I would change is the cover. Some folks saw the cover on my Kindle at work and they all thought I was reading XXX stories... Embarrassing! This is not that kind of book. It is your typical steamy romance yes, (R-rated) but the cover alludes to a more erotica style book, which this is not.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

216 pages
Stand alone
Dual povs

The stubborn and volatile Laird of Tulloch Ceann MacKenzie believes in the curse that his line will die with him. Disillusioned and bitter he fills his days protecting his land and his people and he's not too happy when he and his men stumble across a beautiful lass alone in the forest.

Their immediate attraction to each other is undeniable.

Unknown to Ceann, Ella MacCrae has been sent to Castle Tulloch to find a great treasure never dreaming the form this treasure would take.

Prepare for a battle of wills as these two go head to head.

What I really loved about this sweet story was the push and pull of sexual tension. While the attraction was instant the sex was a long time coming but when it did...well lets just say Ceann's very long dry spell was well and truly over.

Explicit sex scenes

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance

A sweet light romance with a special hea. With dual pov you definitely get to know the characters. A few special secrets and a little deceit with a touch of fate definitely adds to this charming highland romance. Explosive sexual tension keeps you wanting more and even though it takes a while when the characters come together the steam adds to this delightful read. If your looking for a light highland romance I definitely recommend but if your wanting a romance with historical facts this isn't for you.

[londa · Rating 5 out of 5]

for a freebie this was amazing. I loved it. I love highlander romances. I thought it had all the things I love sexual tension and really good sex scenes. I have already read this 3 times. I really need to read her newer books.

[Lisa C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a bit predictable in that it didn't take me long to figure out what the treasure was Ella was searching for. The whole she's a spy/not a spy part got boring but overall, it kept my interest and was an easy, afternoon read.

Not bad; will look for more by McKinnon.

[Hotncold82 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a cute read, one that I enjoyed while it lasted. Yes, it was simplistic, and I felt as if more could have been done to develop the storyline and the characters, but overall, it was still a good read.

[Brandy Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the book and story line was hoping there was more than one book! would like to see this as a series I mean what about ethan and colin and his enemy mcinnos???

[Rogue]

the covers for this book suck.

Book was okay. Not for Syd

[Lindsay]

Amazon Freebie 11/13/2012

[Cathlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5- super predictable, but a decent historical romance